Russian paper-in-oil tone caps: Anyone ever used them?

[FrankenFretter]

I've been looking at PIO caps on Ebay, mostly out of curiosity. Someone here recommended I look there for NOS Russian tone caps, and it seems that there are many to be found. My question; has anyone here ordered any from the Ukraine? I'd like to try them, but the whole customs thing worries me. That, and I don't know if it's worth the money to experiment.

I know there are differing opinions on whether or not the tone capacitors really influence tone that much. Some swear by the PIO caps, and some think it's all purely subjective at best.

I did find a lot of .047 uF PIO caps, 128 of them for $24. It is $14 for shipping, though. Anyone want to split up an order???

Any feedback and/or advice is appreciated.

[Bloozcat]

Well, the cat's been out of the bag for awhile now on the Russian Mil PIO caps and the availability and price reflect that.

The ones to look for are the k40y-9's and the k42y-2's in .01uf, .015uf, .022uf, .033uf, and .047uf. 200v is best as they are smaller, but 630v are ok as well. 1000v will work, but they're a little big. The voltage won't affect the tone either way. That will cover the usual range of guitar caps.

There's a guy on Ebay from Ural Russia who has quite a stock of them. He has a 100% feedback rating, so he's reliable, but the shipping is predictably high.

If you're looking to get just a few to try in a couple of guitars, try contacting this guy:
http://www.tonemojo.com/Services.html
He goes by the name jonsey on the mylespaul.com forum and he's a good guy to deal with. I've bought pickup magnets from him and he's very conscientious.

[Heywood Jablomie]

Guitar tone caps have to be at the top of the voodoo/mojo/BS stack, for sure. I think it's similar to a lot of other things that can't be proven, but the user swears it works. Makes me think of this:

http://consumerist.com/2008/03/do-coat-hangers-sound-as-good-monster-cables.html

FF, DON'T DRINK THE KOOL-AID!!!!!!!

[Bloozcat]

Guitar tone caps have to be at the top of the voodoo/mojo/BS stack, for sure. I think it's similar to a lot of other things that can't be proven, but the user swears it works. Makes me think of this:

http://consumerist.com/2008/03/do-coat-hangers-sound-as-good-monster-cables.html

FF, DON'T DRINK THE KOOL-AID!!!!!!!

Well, that's one persons opinion on the subject.

Trust your own ears FrankenFretter...:AOK

[FrankenFretter]

I know, I know...it's quite the controversy. l figured I might buy a few just to see if I can actually tell a difference. There was an online article a while back in this where the tester used test leads with alligator clips to test a bunch of caps to see whether he could tell a difference. Apparently, he could. Unfortunately, there were no sound clips. I figured I could do the same. It's too bad I don't have any way to record it for The Fret.

I suspect that the truth lies somewhere in between; that there is some difference, but it's probably subtle.

Heywood: That's hilarious! I run into a lot of people that use Monster Cables in my line of work, and I always have an inner laugh at the silly prices that they get away with for something that I doubt really makes much difference. The cap thing could be more of the same, true. But at a few bucks a piece, it's a cheap experiment. I'm still contemplating...

Thanks for the feedback so far, folks. And BC, thanks for the info and the link. It's always good to have a trustworthy source, should I decide to take the plunge.

[poodlesrule]

.... where the tester used test leads with alligator clips to test a bunch of caps to see whether he could tell a difference. Apparently, he could. Unfortunately, there were no sound clips....


I am pretty sure I ran into something similar on YT, with sound clips.
Same guy did some pots tests as well.

[Heywood Jablomie]

Here ya go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92G-jw4TqS4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR4maqK_IhQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7Hod21pIUI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1vXoLXIejY

"johnplanetz" has other videos about pots, rewiring, etc. He seems pretty knowledgeable, and according to his website, he works for Korg R & D.

[Tig]

I run into a lot of people that use Monster Cables in my line of work, and I always have an inner laugh at the silly prices that they get away with for something that I doubt really makes much difference.

Belkin's video, audio, and data cables work great, and are much cheaper.